Art materials are experiensive, it’s only natural that we want to sell some of our creations in order to help buy more supplies. Plus, it always makes us feel good to be valued and have our work sought out. Galleries and physical venues often have high costs to get seen, little chance of a guaranteed sale, and lower traffic. That’s why you and many other artists are looking online for the solution.
If you really need to cut costs down, I support the advertised specials from Blick at BlickDeals.Learn2Paint.info .
Selling art online is no easy task, remember there are thousands of other artists trying to do the exact same thing! Here is what you need to consider before making the attempt:
1. Do I have enough of an inventory built up, or can I paint regularly enough to supply my art?
2. Do I have any current web traffic or representation?
3. Do people ask to buy my artwork?
4. Are the prices I want the same as what people will pay?
5. Can I accept losing this art for money (or even very little money)?
Answer those questions honestly because there is nothing wrong with discovering you’re not ready to jump into the market. The questions are in a definite progression to test whether you are too attached to your art, or perhaps overvalue it.
The purpose of having inventory is not only to keep supply constant, always being able to offer buyers more. The real purpose is that artists grow. You will have paintings along the way that you can’t part with. But, in general, paintings that are older will be seen as imperfect and inferior when you look back at them. THis is normal and makes it easier to see the work as a saleable item, and not a priceless masterpiece.
If you already have a website, you may be getting enough traffic to sell from there. Don’t be sly, hiding your prices actually discourages sales! If you plan to sell elsewhere, listing prices is probably a bad idea. You can gain traffic from other sources like Amazon, Etsy, and Ebay. I personally enjoy Ebay because it makes your prices equal to what the market will pay (no guesswork for you) and it incentivizes buyers to pay since they will lose the chance after a short time. The downside is selling for less than you wanted. But is that truly worst than listing your art for outrageous prices elsewhere and getting no sales? Add it to your questions list for bonus points!
OK, it may start ot get painful, so there’s the warning. If people have never asked to buy your artwork, it may not be saleable. Maybe it is and you just need to put it out there, but do some serious thinking. You may have practice pieces that need to be analyzed and refined. Enjoy the process of creating art, the buyers will come eventually.
People are cheap. I’m cheap. Everyone wants to get an amazing product for little or no money. It can and should insult you when people pay less than you think they should. But if you don’t either improve your value, or accept the going rate, your just in denial. Seek improvement and always strive for the best price on your art as it is an extension of you and worthy of attracting buyers!
Now you need to decide on where you can sell you art online. If you absolutely need $500, $5,000, or $50,000 from your works, the auction is not for you. Etsy, Amazon, your personal site, a FASO site, are all better choices (but you likely won’t be selling anything). The internet is known for bargain hunting since information can be so easily compared and found. Someone who truly wants a great piece of art and will pay a lot, is going to choose their favorite artist they have a relationship with, or go to a selective gallery where they can see the work in person before buying.
I know this article won’t give you the magic answer of how do I instantly make a million dollars, and that’s not my goal. I just hope artists out there can better understand the value of their art and market it with reasonable expectations. The major points are: Take pride in a sale and learn from the sale, improve upon your art and marketing based on what you learn, and enjoy creating art as something truly special and unique.